Trout Unlimited is a non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to conserve, protect and restore North America's trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds. That mission is accomplished on the local, state and national levels through an extensive and dedicated volunteer network.
Trout Unlimited was born in 1959 when a small group of concerned anglers in Michigan banded together to ensure the health of trout, riparian habitat, and the sport of angling. They won their first legislative victory just two years later when Michigan replaced its indiscriminate stocking of catchable-size trout with stream improvement programs, fingerling planting, and protective fishing regulations. Word of their success spread quickly and conservation minded anglers in other states, from Pennsylvania to California, joined together under the Trout Unlimited banner to effect similar changes to their trout fisheries.
The National Office, based just outside of Washington, D.C., employs professionals who testify before Congress, publish Trout Unlimited's quarterly magazine, intervene in federal legal proceedings and work with TU's 140,000 grass-roots volunteers in 400 chapters nationwide to keep them active and involved in conservation issues. At the national level, Trout Unlimited has been instrumental in enacting important legislation to protect fish and aquatic habitat. Recent legislative victories include the U.S. International Driftnet Fishery Conservation Act, which provides enforcement for the ban on high seas driftnets; legislation to improve fish migration around hydropower dams; and laws that will strengthen wetlands protection and lay the foundation for removal of two controversial dams in Washington state. In 1993, in response to a TU lawsuit, the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) agreed to conduct the first ever environmental impact review of its state hatchery program. The findings of the DFG study will help to reform one of the nation's largest fish hatchery programs and should help fisheries biologists seeking similar reform in other states. In addition, TU is helping to develop responsible habitat management plans for the future through partnerships with state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
Trout Unlimited's National Resource Board, made up of representatives of Trout Unlimited's volunteer leadership, sets the conservation agenda for TU. Today, protecting trout and salmon requires up-to-the-minute scientific research and active legislative advocacy to back up hands-on habitat restoration. To provide that expertise. and a presence in the nation's capital. Trout Unlimited built a dedicated national staff of legal and scientific professionals. The national staff, based in Washington, D.C., works at the federal level to influence national environmental policy and carries out TU's national conservation agenda.
For more information on the national Trout Unlimited organization, click on the link that follows. The TU home page will appear in this browser window. When you are finished, you can return to this page by simply clicking on the menu to the left. Click here to go to the National Trout Unlimited home page.
The Colorado Council of Trout Unlimited (CTU):
Colorado hosts the Colorado Council of Trout Unlimited (CTU) which serves 6,200 members throughout the Rocky Mountain region. The West Denver Chapter is one of 21 chapters in the Colorado council. For more information on Colorado Trout Unlimited, click on the following link: http://www.cotrout.org/
About TU & CTU
West Denver Chapter Trout Unlimited
